Wahba v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

Summary

The court held that res judicata did not bar the trial court from considering whether changed debt and property values warranted modifying a strict foreclosure to a foreclosure by sale after an appellate remand for new law days. The remand order created a rebuttable presumption that the original foreclosure form remained appropriate, but it did not eliminate the trial court's equitable authority to reconsider that form absent an express limitation. The plaintiff was not required to file a separate motion to open the judgment or prove the property's increased value before obtaining an evidentiary hearing, so the judgment was reversed and remanded for updated findings and further proceedings.